Houston, TX - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mayor’s Office of Veteran Affairs today hailed the awarding of $2.1 million in grants from the Veteran’s Administration to two local agencies to help house homeless veterans in Houston.

Vancouver, WA - October 12, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Clark County's Homeless Engagement Collaboration (CHEC) project has been awarded the 2009 National Association for County Community and Economic Development (NACCED) Award of Excellence in the category of Homeless Coordination/Assistance.

Bill ensures that men and women serving overseas get equal access to tax credits and benefits. Washington, DC - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Late last week, Congressman Baron Hill voted in support of the Service Members Home Ownership Act of 2009, H.R. 3590. The bill was passed by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote on the evening of Thursday, October 8, 2009.H.R. 3590 ensures that our service members, particularly those deployed overseas, will get equal access to the first-time homebuyer tax credit. For example, the legislation would ensure that certain payments under the Department of Defense Housing Assistance Program (HAP) are exempt from tax. And, the bill guarantees that services members will not have to repay the first-time homebuyer credit if they are called up for service overseas and forced to sell their home within three years of purchasing.

Washington, DC - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 13, Congressmen Robert Wexler (FL-19), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), and Ron Klein (FL-22) and State Senator Ted Deutch will be joined by President Barack Obama’s Secretary for Housing and Urban Development, Shaun Donovan, for a tour of a Boynton Beach home afflicted by contaminated drywall. Reps. Wexler and Diaz-Balart, the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Contaminated Drywall, will emphasize to Secretary Donovan the devastating impact the tainted drywall has had on the lives of the Roberts family, who own a home in the community of Cobblestone Creek. Dr. Steve Roberts and his wife Jennifer Roberts have struggled with their 16 month-old daughter’s frequent respiratory infections, and the fact that their home has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in value as a result of this toxic product

TALLAHASSEE, FL - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Reports recently received by Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) show a significant increase in the number Floridians finding affordable rental housing using www.FloridaHousingSearch.org, which is the Corporation’s FREE online rental housing locator. According to the data in the report, provided by Socialserve.com®, 39 percent of the rented units on the state’s Search.org affordable rental housing locator were located by consumers using www.Floridahousingsearch.org or the Locator's call-center.

SANTA ANA, CA - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- First American CoreLogic, a member of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) family of companies and America’s largest provider of advanced property and ownership information, analytics and services, today introduced its free patent-pending ePropertyWatch Professional service, which is designed to help real estate and mortgage industry professionals stay in touch with customers and drive repeat business and referrals.

SANTA ANA, CA - October 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- First American CoreLogic, a member of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) family of companies and America’s largest provider of advanced property and ownership information, analytics and services, today announced that it has built the mortgage industry’s most comprehensive national fraud data repository to help clients combat all types of mortgage fraud and to further enhance the predictive performance of its anti-fraud solutions.

Washington, D.C. - October 8, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis today supported the House of Representatives effort to make first-time homebuyer tax credits more flexible for members of our Armed Forces.

New York, NY - October 7, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, ANDREW CUOMO, the Attorney General of the State of New York, JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), RICHARD H. NEIMAN, the Superintendent of Banks for New York State, BRIAN G. PARR, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the United States Secret Service ("USSS"), and RONALD J. VERROCHIO, the Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service ("USPIS"), announced today the unsealing of a seven-count Indictment charging 12 individuals—including mortgage brokers, loan officers, and attorneys—with engaging in a scheme to defraud various lending institutions by using fictitious identities and documents to obtain more than $9 million in residential mortgages. All 12 defendants were arrested this morning and are expected to be presented in federal court later today.

TRENTON, NJ - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- More than 2,600 New Jersey homeowners have received counseling assistance through the State's Foreclosure Mediation Program, Governor Jon S. Corzine said today.

Trenton, NJ - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assemblyman Scott Rumana today warned the state’s middle class homeowners to brace themselves for another round of property tax increases in light of Governor Jon Corzine’s revelation he intends to cut state aid to local school districts to plug an expected $8 billion budget deficit.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 8, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an effort to provide those serving in the armed forces with the full housing benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today voted in support of bipartisan legislation that expands housing benefits to uniformed service members and other federal employees.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 8, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an effort to provide those serving in the armed forces with the full housing benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today voted in support of bipartisan legislation that expands housing benefits to uniformed service members and other federal employees.

Houston, TX - October 3, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Houston residents attended a housing foreclosure prevention workshop hosted by U.S. Congressman Al Green (TX-09) and learned about strategies they could use to avoid losing their home, such as loan modification, refinancing services and assistance from the federal government.

Sacramento, CA - October 12, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERIT, a leading provider of professional community association and rental management services, promoted Joe Price to Northern California Vice President of Community Management. Price will be responsible for leading the Northern California division while positioning for growth in the East Bay, Central Valley, Stockton and San Francisco markets.

11 agencies to serve at-risk families statewide; Funds will provide housing relocation, stabilization and financial assistance Topeka, KS - October 12, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Kansas Housing Resources Corporation has announced the award of approximately $8.4 million in homelessness prevention grants through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The funds will allow 11 [...]

WASHINGTON, DC - October 12, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Dennis Moore (Third District – Kansas) announced today the passage of H.R. 3590, The Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009, which amends the federal tax code to ensure military personnel can take full advantage of the first-time homebuyer tax credit that was created as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The measure passed the House by a unanimous vote of 416-0. Moore is a co-sponsor of the legislation.

Must Close Before December 1, 2009 to Qualify for Advance Loan on Federal Credit. CHICAGO, IL - October 12, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- With the federal tax credit deadline fast approaching, the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) reminds potential first-time homebuyers to take advantage of the Home Start Tax Advance Loan. The deadline for the loan, which offers up to $6,000 in down payment assistance, is December 1, 2009.

SACRAMENTO, CA - October 12, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- New home sales in California remained at historic low levels in August signaling that the state’s housing sector may be slow to recover from a stubborn recession. The California Building Industry Association reported today that sales in new-home communities of 10 units or more, though better than July’s steep decline, were 13 percent below August 2008

October 12, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- To help prevent California homeowners and homebuyers from being negatively impacted by the fraudulent mortgage practices that have arisen in the aftermath of the national foreclosure crisis, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation to increase protections for consumers in the lending market and provide law enforcement with more tools to crack down on deceitful mortgage practices. These bills aim to strengthen California’s reverse mortgage laws by providing senior homeowners with greater consumer protections when considering reverse mortgage agreements, make it a felony to commit fraud in connection with a mortgage application and promote responsibility and accountability in the real estate market.

Funds to Support Housing Counseling Program in Waterloo. Des Moines, IA - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Board of Directors recently approved a $50,000 grant to Operation Threshold from the State Housing Trust Fund’s Project-Based Program. The program helps finance the development of affordable single-family and multifamily housing units.

Washington, DC - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Vern Buchanan (FL-13) will hold a foreclosure assistance workshop on Saturday, October 10, 2009. Lenders, federal agencies, and local housing and counseling agencies will help assist residents of Florida’s 13th District from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the student union at State College of Florida, 5840 26th St. West, Bradenton, Florida

It's time for OFIR and Hollowell to uphold the law - Not Ignore it. Eliminating credit based insurance discounts would increase insurance costs for more than 70% of Michigan policyholders. Lansing, MI - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Commissioner of the Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (OFIR) Ken Ross, and Automobile and Home Insurance Consumer Advocate Melvin Butch Hollowell both went before the Michigan Supreme Court today asking the Court to ban the use of credit-based insurance scores. Ross was in the courtroom while Hollowell was holding court outside the Hall of Justice at a press conference to influence the Judge's decisions.

New York, NY - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, United States Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced that the Hudson Valley Community College in Troy will receive $3,497,595 from the Department of Energy.

ATLANTA, GA - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- If it makes your house safe, if it makes your house livable, if it makes your house comply with local building codes, you can use your federal disaster assistance payment to pay for it. But even the maximum grant payments from the Federal Emergency Management Agency may not cover the complete cost of repairing or rebuilding your home. That is why loans of up to $200,000 for homeowners are available from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

DES MOINES, IA - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Chet Culver has announced that three housing developments have been awarded a total of more than $18.5 million to construct or preserve affordable housing in central and eastern Iowa. The awards were made through the Culver/Judge I-JOBS initiative and the federal American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to support projects in Ames, Cedar Rapids and Davenport. The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) administers the programs.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) announced four counties in Northern Michigan have received grants totaling $127,430 to repair and rehabilitate low income housing. The grants were awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of the Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) program. Cheboygan, Ogemaw, Emmett and Presque Isle Counties received grants

WASHINGTON, DC - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Mark Schauer voted to pass two key measures for our American veterans. The Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act (H.R. 3590), which passed with bipartisan support today, will extend the deadline for taking advantage of the first-time homebuyer tax credit under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for qualified service members by one year.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) and Susan Collins (R-ME) today introduced legislation to track the number of hate crimes committed against homeless persons to help determine just how pervasive such crimes may be. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) joined as original co-sponsors of the bill, the Hate Crimes Against Homeless Statistics Act.

Washington, D.C. - October 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- With Congressman John Sarbanes’ strong support, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1016, Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act and H.R. 3590, Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act. Both measures have been referred to the Senate for consideration. “This Congress is committed to putting our troops and veterans first,” said Congressman John Sarbanes. “Our service men and women have made sacrifices for our country and all Americans. They deserve our utmost gratitude but also a meaningful commitment in terms of health care and opportunities for homeownership.